If a picture paints a thousand words

This blog is a place for me to work on my photography. My goal is to submit a new picture every day and to get better as the moments go by. I take all pictures with my digital camera. I worked for years with a 35 mm minolta, and this is a learning experience for me. I am afraid that I got lazy and allowed the camera to choose most of the settings for me. This is my journey of learning how to shoot a camera that is not in a program mode. It is harder than I ever imagined. That makes this challenge both a new experience and a joy for me.

Sunday, October 31, 2010

Probably, one of my favorite parts of having the mornings get colder, is the wood fire burning in the wood stove. We heat our house mostly with wood every winter. It cuts down on fuel costs and keeps us warm. We love the way it looks and the feelings of comfort that it elicits.

Friday, October 29, 2010

In driving around town, I found these few flowers hanging on in spite of the cooler weather. This really is a macro shot as these flowers are less than an inch in diameter each. I loved the yellow, and I thought it ironic that the only ones I found were all in fall colors!

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

We all have problems, difficulties that may be seen or unseen, visible to others or only to ourselves. You can't always tell what is wrong with someone by just looking. Today, we had to make a difficult decision. A decision that I hope will be life changing in a good way for someone that I love. So, for black and white Wednesday, I decided to post the medication that may make the difference, for a life seen in black and white, to change to one full of color and joy.

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

I like to participate in the Sunday Creative Challenge over at Madeline Bea's. You can go there to see some other examples. This weeks Challenge was "Dynamic". I thought the vibrant colors of fall fit the challenge very nicely.

When you live in the pine trees, like we do, it can be a little hard to find the whisper of fall around your home. I actually saw these whispers a couple of streets over from my house. I loved the colors of the turning leaves. The red contrasts so well with the green and makes me believe that winter is not, quite, here. There is not snow on the ground yet, but it is plenty cold in the mornings when we leave the house.

Monday, October 25, 2010

My Sister-in-law happily donated a few squash to the cause. I have never cooked them before, but thought they were unique and beautiful in their own way. We made a stew with squash, potatoes, and Kielbasa. It was so amazing. We really enjoyed the flavor and texture. I must admit, when you cook them in a crock pot with potatoes and sausages, they all taste pretty good! It was fun to cook something different and

Sunday, October 24, 2010

This morning, while I was lazing about in bed, my daughter came in and said, "Mom, hurry breakfast is ready and you are going to miss them!" She had gotten up early and made her first batch ever of homemade pancakes! They were made from a recipe that she learned in her young women's group at church. Usually, daddy makes the pancakes and we use whole wheat flower. Miracle got a message that was all white flour. This was a breakfast they have never had before! They loved it and ate. Every. Single. One.
I couldn't get a picture when the plate was full (trust me, we were all too busy eating for pictures!) But I did manage to get one of the last ones.

The motto for Time Out For Women this year was enduring hope! I only took a few pictures, but I loved having this weekend opportunity to recharge my batteries. I was able to attend with my daughter-in-law, Amy as well as her mother, Brenda. We had a wonderful day.

We believe in being honest, true, chaste, benevolent, virtuous, and in doing good to all men; indeed, we may say that we follow the admonition of Paul—We believe all things, we hope all things, we have endured many things, and hope to be able to endure all things. If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things. Article of Faith 1:13

Friday, October 22, 2010

Nothing like seeing a couple of hearts joined into one.I love it when nature itself teaches a principle that I believe in. Notice how they each have their own definate borders? But they live because they are dependent upon one another. I just loved finding this one.

Thursday, October 21, 2010

My sweet little girl is growing up. She is becoming a young woman and is starting off on a new adventure at church. The girls get together for Young Women's once a week. This week, they came over to our house when we were strategically missing and "Heart Attacked" her room. As you can see, it was so much fun and she felt so grown up.

Nothing like a bunch of teenage girls to remind you of the things that are really important!

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Here is a picture of my little flutist. I took the picture in color and then changed it to black and white for the challenge. I posted both here (along with some others because, after all, I am a parent!)
Hope you enjoy.

Monday, October 18, 2010

My daughter loves the Merry-go-round. I must admit, sometimes it looks like fun. I do like to be the one taking pictures as the round and round feeling is not a good one for me. I blurred this one except for her face, and highlighted the colors. I like the way it turned out.

Friday, October 15, 2010

Here are some beautiful flowers that are still in bloom down in the Phoenix area. I couldn't resist a quick Macro shot for today. To check out other macro shots, go to Blogging from Bolivia. There are links to other photography blogs as well as some truly great shots!!

Thursday, October 14, 2010

We went to a 50th anniversary celebration this past weekend. One of the items of entertainment was the native american dancing. I do not think that you can live in or grow up in Arizona without developing an appreciation of this wonderful art. There were several different dances and I tried to catch the colors and enthusiasm of them all.

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Ok, I had to try and make these! They were amazing. A little more darker chocolate than I have ever made before and oh so good! I posted the recipe on my other blog. Go Here for a recipe and directions! I hope you love them as much as we do!

There is no way that the pictures can do these little goodies justice. They were so good that I ahem, the girls couldn't keep their hands out of them!

Monday, October 11, 2010

This was an old pot used for a center piece. I loved it. I played with the colors to make them pop! It only made me love it more. I haven't used the saturation feature before to "fix" my pictures. I had a lot of fun with this pot.

And with this one. I toned down the brightness, but still brought out the color. I think I just might love photoshop!!

Sunday, October 10, 2010

My daughter has always wanted to play the cello. I finally broke down this year and bought her a new one. She is loving it and she love having the opportunity to learn music. Music is something that we all love and work toward. Each of the children in my family have participated in music programs. Each of them has loved it in their own way. These last little girls are no different. They love the beauty and sound of a beautiful instrument.

All four of these children go to church with us. They are Kayla's peers and her friends.

About Me

I am the wife of the most amazing man on earth and the mother of 11 children. I am also a grandma of 14 grandchildren, with several more to come. My family means more to me than any other thing I might have accomplished.